ACED raises funding from the Hewlett Foundation to build on ARF project

ACED Benin has received funding from the Hewlett Foundation to improve and embed evidence use in the food security sector in Benin. This new partnership builds on the findings of the Applied Research Fund (ARF) project “Improving resilience of inland fisher communities in Benin”.

Policymakers of developing countries are constantly in a dilemma of making tough policy decisions to face the challenges of food and nutrition insecurity in a context of scarce resources. There is a growing recognition that policymakers can effectively navigate these decisions and achieve substantially better results if rigorous evidence is mainstreamed into the policymaking process. Unfortunately, in many developing countries and, in particular, Benin, the introduction of evidence into the process of decision-making is challenging due to the lack of interoperability between the evidence-generating systems and the policy community. Since 2009, ACED works to build connections between action research and policies in the food security and environment sectors ultimately to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable populations in Benin.

In line with its mission, ACED has recently established a USD 600,000 partnership with the Hewlett Foundation to improve and embed evidence use in the food security sector in Benin. This partnership builds on long established expertise and the position of ACED in the evidence-policy-action nexus, and especially on the findings and perspectives developed during the ARF funded research project on improving the resilience of fisher communities in Benin. During this new initiative, ACED will support local governments through improved access to relevant, accurate and useful evidence from diversified sources; strengthen the capacity of local government policymakers to demand, access and use evidence in policymaking; and enable them to develop evidence-informed plans and programs to improve food security. While working towards these objectives, ACED will strive to improve the ecosystem of evidence informed policymaking in Benin to ensure that research findings directly respond to policy issues and are effectively used to reduce food and nutrition insecurity.

If you would like to join this initiative, please contact ACED at .